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Verizon Wireless’ 50 Mbps mobile network coming this year

March 19th, 2010, 11:24 am by

With next week’s CTIA Wireless show, there will be plenty of news about what our next cell phone will look like and achieve.

Verizon Wireless wanted to get ahead of the crowd and confirmed today that it is on track to build a 4G wireless network this year. Peak speeds are at 40 to 50 megabits per second download and 20 to 25 mbps upload. These must be ideal results from a lab since Verizon adds that in reality, the service will have average data rates of 5 to 12 mbps down, and 2 to 5 mbps up.

The 50 mbps would get consumers to fiber-optic Internet speeds available from Verizon FiOS and some cable companies outside of Orange County. The more realistic 5 to 12 mbps is akin to today’s DSL and cable Internet speeds. The 3G mobile wireless speeds that many cell phone companies tout today are in the barely 1 mbps range.

Verizon’s expected 4G launch? “Later this year,” said the company.

And where? “Up to 30 markets in 2010.”

And how much? Nothing determined yet, but according to BroadbandReports.com, Verizon is asking people for their input.

With that sort of launch, Orange County has got to be among one of the 30 markets since we often get grouped with Los Angeles. Don’t you think?

Fourth-generation wireless is split between two methods. There is Long Term Evolution, or LTE, which is the 4G of choice for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. The other 4G is WiMax, backed by Sprint, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and many cable companies just now entering the mobile data market. Corrected, 3/20/10: Cox is going with LTE (thanks L).

If Verizon is able to get something started this year, it will be the first in the nation to offer this type of 4G service.

Faster wireless has been expected after Verizon acquired a huge chunk of wireless spectrum two years ago. Remember that? The U.S. government put local TV broadcast signals into a reserve for police, emergency and other public safety communication and auctioned off the excess spectrum to Verizon and AT&T for $16 billion in March 2008. One big result was last year’s digital TV transition, which forced TV channels to broadcast digital signals only.

Verizon added that it expects full nationwide 4G coverage by 2013.

Related:

Posted in: Cell phones • Internet • • • • • | 7 Comments »

O.C., L.A. among first to get AT&T’s faster mobile broadband

September 9th, 2009, 3:07 pm by

AT&T WirelessFinally! AT&T confirms that Orange County (and Los Angeles) will be one of six regions nationwide to get faster mobile Internet before the end of the year.

The other five regions are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Miami. (See earlier mention from May, ”7.2 Mbps Internet speeds coming to AT&T mobile this year.“)

The company doesn’t link the upgrade to negative reports from iPhone users. But AT&T mentions in a press release that its wireless traffic has quadrupled in the past year, and the upgrade is just “part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to lead the industry in delivering the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers.”

iPhone and other AT&T smartphone users can look forward to faster Internet, with speeds up to 7.2 megabits per second. That’s faster than some home broadband service.

But this isn’t the next generation 4G service being tested by Verizon and Sprint in other parts of the country. This is High Speed Packet Access 7.2, sometimes called Turbo 3G. AT&T’s plans to begin testing 4G (using Long Term Evolution technology, or LTE) next year and will offer 4G service in 2011.

HSPA requires a software upgrade. This is supported by souped-up cell sites, which are being linked by fiber-optic cables for to improve speeds.  HSPA is expected to be the fastest mobile broadband offered by any wireless company this year, said AT&T.

Theoretical speeds hit 7.2 mbps but that is with ideal conditions and usually in a lab. In reality, expect something slower. Just like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless technologies, HSPA speeds are affected by location, the device and overall traffic on the wireless network.

AT&T plans to roll out the faster HSPA service to the rest of the nation by the end of 2010. By the end of 2011, 90 percent of its existing 3G network will get the HSPA boost.  As part of the launch, AT&T will offer six compatible smartphones plus two new LaptopConnect cards.

Recent 3G and 4G news:


Posted in: Cell phones • iPhone • • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Virgin Mobile adds pay-as-you-go wireless Internet

June 10th, 2009, 1:42 pm by

Broadband2Go pay-as-you-go wireless modem from Virgin Mobile USA

Corrected 6/15/2009: Virgin Mobile says this service is not yet available for Mac/Linux users but will be in upcoming weeks. 

For people too cheap to cough up monthly fees for wireless broadband cards, Virgin Mobile USA just announced a wireless modem that is pay as you go. No monthly fees, no contracts, no activation fees. (Nice!)

The aptly named Broadband2Go runs on Sprint’s EV-DO wireless network, so users can expect download speeds of around 1 megabit per second. The modem is a Novatel Wireless USB key, model number MC760. It plugs into a laptop, picture on right (image courtesy of Virgin Mobile). It also includes a microSD card slot to store files.

The prepaid mobile phone market has become hyper competitive this year as companies like Irvine’s Boost Mobile introduced unlimited plans for $50/month. But Virgin Mobile’s news today could bring prepaid to a new audience of people who don’t want to commit to costly monthly mobile broadband plans.

But this doesn’t mean it is cheap.

The modem costs $149.99. And then you’ll need to purchase data plans via “Top-Up” cards or credit/debit cards so it can be pay as you go. According to Virgin Mobile, users will need to buy the cards — available in amounts of $10, $20, $40 or $60 — and then use those to buy data plans, from 100 megabytes to 1 gigabyte. 

Virgin Mobile estimates that a $20 card, which is enough for a 250 MB plan, translates into 12 hours of Web browsing. That beats Verizon Wireless’ fee for its broadband card, which is $40 for 250 MB. 

But to match Virgin Mobile’s best value, the $60 1 GB plan with Verizon’s or Sprint’s standard data plan, you’ll boost the cost to $360 for 5 GBs. That’s significantly higher than the $60/month fee that Verizon and Sprint charge for the same amount of data.   

Virgin Mobile adds prepaid mobile broadband. Chart of prices.And one big drawback to pay as you go is that if you don’t use it, you lose it, a common feature with prepaid plans. Virgin Mobile’s data packages expire. The 100 MB plan must be used within 10 days. The other plans expire within 30 days. However, the expiration data starts over if you add more megabytes.

Best Buy Mobile will start selling the modem in late June for $149.99. It’s compatible with computers running Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems (not yet available for Mac and Linux but will be in upcoming weeks, says Virgin Mobile) and equipped with a Type-A USB port. There’s also a meter to monitor data usage.

More on cell-phones:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

7.2 Mbps Internet speeds coming to AT&T mobile this year

May 27th, 2009, 4:04 pm by

AT&T WirelessThe next-generation of AT&T’s mobile broadband won’t be out until 2011 or 2012.

Until then, the company said today it is upgrading its existing network to HSPA 7.2 technology, which will offer speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second.

In reality, of course, the speeds will be slower but that should still beat today’s existing 3G service, which hovers between 700 to 1,700 kilobits per second.

AT&T is calling the upgrade a “speed boost.”

To access the new speeds, users must have HSPA-compatible smartphones or laptop cards (sorry iPhone 3G friends).

As part of the estimated $17 billion upgrade this year, the company is also doubling the amount of wireless spectrum dedicated to 3G service and improving indoor service. This upgrade was recently completed in Orange County (see “Better iPhone service in O.C., L.A.? AT&T completes upgrade.”) And because of the upgrade, the company is building 2,100 new cell sites across the country.

The new technology will start rolling out this year. No details on when the Orange County market will get access to the speedier service. The rollout should be completed by 2011, just in time for AT&T’s even faster 4G service to start rolling out.

AT&T, by the way, has committed to Long Term Evolution, or LTE, technology, which has tested at 50 to 60 megabits per second. Verizon Wireless is also backing the LTE technology, while Sprint is already rolling out its 4G service, based on WiMax technology. AT&T plans to begin testing LTE in certain markets in 2010. 

One big reason for the 3G upgrade? In the same manner that it took 3G service several years to roll out, the 4G service will be the same. Those not in 4G parts of the country will still have the faster 3G service to rely on.

More bits from the web:

More on 4G mobile service: 


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 3 Comments »

Verizon to start offering souped-up netbook this Sunday

May 14th, 2009, 3:52 pm by

Verizon Wireless launches own netbook, with help from HP.On a recent visit to the Verizon Wireless campus in Irvine, I got a quick demo of what’s coming next from the company: a netbook, which is a cheaper, lighter, less powerful laptop computer.

But unlike most netbooks I’ve seen, Verizon took the HP Mini 1151 NR netbook and added a cell-phone modem and gave it a phone number. This isn’t one of those promotional deals where you get a cheap laptop though.

Similar to a program AT&T rolled out in Atlanta and Philadelphia, Verizon offers a discount on the netbook, which starts around $430. Verizon is offering it for $200 (or $150 after a mail-in rebate) if the user commits to a 2-year wireless broadband contract. That added monthly service fee will cost ya $39.99 (for 250 megabytes) to $59.99 (for 5 gigabytes) per month, plus a bit extra if you go over your data limit. Over two years, the netbook will cost at least $960 to $1,440 in monthly services fees, excluding taxes, overage fees and who knows what.

That’s a high-price for some, but for others, the convenience of having a lighter laptop with Internet access almost everywhere is worth it (they’re the folks already paying that monthly service fee for a broadband card).

The new 2.4-pound Verizon netbook is available this Sunday, May 17.

Technically, the cellular modem is EV-DO Revision A, which is Verizon’s 3G service with download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Mobile Internet is a nice addition for a netbook since the main purpose of a netbook is to surf the ‘Net. It also has Wi-Fi if you roll that way. The netbook comes with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, Wi-Fi and the Intel Atom N270 processor (1.6 GHz).

Some pics from my office visit (click to enlarge):

Verizon Wireless unveils its own netbook. Verizon Wireless unveils its own netbook. Verizon Wireless unveils its own netbook.

Other technical specs: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Computers • • • • | 2 Comments »

Sprint to offer mobile Wi-Fi gadget 2 weeks after Verizon

May 13th, 2009, 1:05 pm by

Sprint's mobile hot spot is Novatel's MiFi gadget.Just spotted: Verizon’s won’t be alone in offering Novatel Wireless’ MiFi mobile Wi-Fi gadget. Sprint just announced it too. Available in the first week of June for the same price as Verizon (or $99 after $50 mail-in rebate). Monthly service fees are between $59.99 (data only) to $149.99 (Sprint’s Simply Everything package). 

Sprint manages to one-up the Verizon offer saying it will be “the first in the U.S. to support MiFi’s GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications.”

More on Sprint’s MiFi:

More on cell-phones:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services 

Posted in: Cell phones • Wi-Fi & networking • • • • • • | Comments Off

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